Notebook: Wizards say East is within reach
02.10.2007 03:00
Sport and Travel
- Source: USA Today
WASHINGTON — The Washington Wizards Monday unveiled their motto for the season — "Ready to Rule."
With all of their players healthy for the first time in more than a year and the Eastern Conference being so evenly balanced, they could very well do just that. The Boston Celtics, after acquiring All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to team with Paul Pierce, another All-Star, is generally regarded as the top team in the East. But that group hasn't played together, and it remains to be seen how well they will complement each other and how long it will take them to develop chemistry. Miami, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, New Jersey and Orlando — who joined Washington in the playoffs last spring — all have questions. So the Wizards are asking why not us? "This is a window of opportunity," Wizards forward and captain Antawn Jamison says. "Nobody has really set themselves apart in the Eastern Conference." The Wizards say injuries kept them from separating themselves from the rest of the East last season. Darius Songaila missed the first 45 games following back surgery. Jamison suffered a knee injury just before the All-Star break and missed 12 games. Gilbert Arenas (knee surgery) and Caron Butler (broken right hand) missed the final two weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. "We know as a team what we're capable of," Arenas says. "Our expectation is to play hard and play smart." Another plus for the Wizards, they say, is that 12 of the 18 players on their training camp roster were with the team last season. "With our chemistry, there is no reason we can't win the Eastern Conference," guard Antonio Daniels says. "You can kind of skip ahead a little bit. You don't have to go from block one." Snow injury Cleveland Cavaliers guard Eric Snow will have surgery Tuesday for a torn medial meniscus in his left knee. Snow, 34, is expected to be out 4-6 weeks and miss the entire preseason after getting hurt last week while working out. Snow has played in 409 of a possible 410 games since the 2002-03 season. Briefly Dikembe Mutombo, 41, signed a one-year contract with the Houston Rockets on Monday. "I hope my farewell tour will be a nice memorable one," he said. … Indiana Pacers forward Shawne Williams was ordered to perform 40 hours of community service Monday for driving without a license after a judge suspended a possible 60-day jail sentence. Contributing: Wire reports
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